Course detail
Bioelectric Phenomena
FEKT-ABEJAcad. year: 2010/2011
Physical interpretation of electric effects in living tissue constitutes a special area of biophysics. The subject ‚Bioelectric effects‘ offers to students of electrical engineerig a biophysical basis for understanding passive electric properties and active effects in living tissue, and provides infomation on currently available measurement methods.
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Number of ECTS credits
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Learning outcomes of the course unit
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Co-requisites
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes
Course curriculum
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Aims
Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences
Recommended optional programme components
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
J. Šimurda: Bioelektrické jevy I, CERM Brno, 1995 (CS)
S. Silbernagl, A. Despopoulos: Atlas fyziologie člověka, GRADA Publishing a.s. 2004 (CS)
Recommended reading
Classification of course in study plans
Type of course unit
Lecture
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
2. Action voltage and its physiological significance. Propagation of action voltage down cellular fibres.
3. Possibilities of obtaining electric contact with the cell interior. Methods of measurement of membrane voltage and membrane currents.
4. Physical principles of bioelectric effects. The model of the cell for interpretation of electric effects.
5. The physical interpretation of resting and action voltage.
6. The quantitative relationship between the overall ion membrane current and action voltage. The main components of ion membrane current and their characterisitcs.
7. Physical interpretation of propagation of excitation down cellular fibres. Biophysical description of electric effects by systems of differenetial euqations.
8. Interpretation of bioelectric effects on molecular level. The structure and functions of biological membrane.
9. Membrane channels: transitions between channel states (gating). Measurement of membrane electric currents on molecular level (the ‚patch clamp‘ method).
10. Carrier-mediated transport of ions across biological membranes. Interaction of substances with transport systems (the mechanisms of effects of some drugs and toxic substances).
11. Excitable cell as a source of electromagnetic field in the surrounding environment. Biophysical principles of electrophysiological diagnostic methods.
12. The electrocardiographic and magnetocardiographic signal as a consequence of action voltage propagation in the network of interconnected heart cells.
13. Excitation-contraction coupling in muscle cells.
Laboratory exercise
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
2. Preparation and measurement of the properties of glass microelectrodes.
3. Preparation of solutions for cellular electrophysiological measurement. Measurement of pH.
4. Measurement and analysis of ion membrane currents in excitable cells (simulation experiments).
5. Measurement of excitation threshold.
6. Measurement of electric impedance in living tissue.
7. Recording of contractions in isolated heart cells.
8. Excursion to the laboratory of cellular electrophysiology
9. Electric properties of cellular membranes (numerical exercises)
10. Measurement of membrane voltage and membrane currents (seminar with demonstration)
11. Molecular basis of bioelectric effects (inatractive software)
12. Propagation of electromagnetic field generated by heart (numerical exercises)
13. Electromechanical coupling (interactive software)